How Using Parental Control Software Can Enhance Parents’ Well-Being: The Role of Product Features on Parental Efficacy and Stress
研究通过调查和实验发现，使用家长控制软件能通过减少角色超载和提升父母效能感来改善父母预期幸福感，但促进孩子自主性或产品自主性的设计会削弱这一效果。
Today, children's smartphone overuse and digital addiction are among parents’ top concerns. To address this issue, technology firms have developed services to help parents monitor their children's screen time. The literature on the impact of parental control tends to focus on the well-being of children, often overlooking the effects of parenting control on the well-being of parents themselves. This research investigates the psychological outcomes associated with delegating parental control to software. The authors conducted two surveys and three experiments among samples of parents in France and the United Kingdom. The results show that resorting to digitally assisted control improves anticipated well-being by decreasing role overload and increasing parental efficacy (Study 1). Moreover, product features play a critical role: software designs that promote children's autonomy (Study 2) or product autonomy (Study 3) tend to be less effective in improving parents’ anticipated well-being. Implications for technology companies are discussed.